School Notes: School of Medicine
September/October 2016

Study focuses on food allergies

A major research initiative to advance the basic science underlying food allergies will bring together scientists from diverse disciplines to answer fundamental questions about the nature of food allergies and how to prevent and treat them. The Food Allergy Science Initiative, led by Ruslan M. Medzhitov, the David W. Wallace Professor of Immunobiology, in collaboration with partners at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, among others, will initially focus on identifying the cellular and molecular components involved in allergic reactions. For Medzhitov, this is an opportunity to delve deeply into a topic he is already investigating in his lab at Yale. “There is a knowledge gap about allergies in general,” he said. “We need to understand the basic biology behind allergies.” By learning why and how certain people react to allergens in food, scientists and clinicians aim to develop new approaches to testing for allergies and treating them, he said.

Nephrologist named to new graduate education roles

Stephen J. Huot, professor of medicine, has been appointed as the next designated institutional official (DIO) for Yale New Haven Hospital and associate dean for graduate medical education at Yale School of Medicine. As DIO, Huot will report on graduate medical education committee activities to the hospital’s medical board and board of trustees, as required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. A committed clinician and educator, Huot joined Yale more than 27 years ago and has held a number of academic and administrative appointments, including his current position as vice chair for education and academic affairs of the Department of Internal Medicine. A national search confirmed Huot’s commitment to medical student and resident education, in-depth knowledge of graduate medical education program requirements, and exceptional leadership. Huot completed his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship training at Yale New Haven Hospital.